The first night after surgery, well, it was nothing like I thought it would be. When I was put under at age 16, to have my wisdom teeth out, I slept for 24 hours afterward. Woke up and ate Jello, soup, was pretty much good to go.
I realized that I would not be "good to go," and I was pretty anxious about the pain that would come with the surgery. What I wasn't expecting was my inability to sleep more than an hour without getting up to go to the bathroom (albeit, very very carefully) or take medication.
I slept quite a bit the first day after, but was able to move around, sit up for long periods and even go visit some friends next door.
Day two was really when it all hit. The pain in my shoulder was excruciating. Apparently the CO2 gas that is needed to push the abdomen wall away from the internal organs gets stuck underneath the diaphram, and radiates pain to the shoulder. It was the worst pain. The internal organs just felt sore, as did the incisions.
Because it was Thanksgiving, we headed over to our friends house, and I did alright for about 2 hours. But I hadn't gotten a nap in (and I always felt exponentially better after a nap) and so shortly after we ate one of the finest Thanksgiving dinners, I had to leave to rest.
When I woke up, as was par for the course, I felt so much better than before. Too bad I hadn't snuck a nap in before.
I was surprised that the pain that I felt was mostly the shoulder. It was terrible. I medicated properly and also used a heating pad. But the only way to really get rid of the pain was to expel the gas by burping. My poor hubby! Such a unlady-like endeavor.
1 comment:
Totally been there with the CO2 pain - it's terrible! Glad you figured out the most effective ways to relieve it. :)
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